Hey guys, so I’ve haven’t been feeling great due to having this illness, not the garden variety type of depression but the ‘hold on for dear life’ kind. My doctor is aware of this and really wants me to try to treat my low testosterone levels, it’s something I’ve been pushing for myself for over 3 years because SSRI’s never worked and I had low androgen readings all the time.

I have no expectation that TRT will cure me or anything, I have other treatments in mind for that, but I do hope it might give me a bit of a lift which is needed when dealing with these issues. Due to the new laws here requiring a reading of 6nmol/L to get testosterone I don’t qualify as my lowest reading was 7.7nmol/L, the highest being 12nmol/L over the years.

My only hesitation is while I don’t expect anything, I don’t want to make things WORSE using a SERM. I have read these things affect people’s mood and make them unstable, in particular clomid hence I’ve been pushing for nolvadex or torermifene (doc doesn’t know about it and won’t give that one out). For people who have taken it, how did it make you feel?

My case is a bit weird because everything is within perfect range other than FSH and testosterone and pituitary/testes/thyroid glands look great. Thyroids and temperature all within check from what I’ve been reading of your work (got a $100 thermometer upgrade which reads about 36.9C). Once I’m home I will make a table of all the lab work I’ve done over the years if it helps. I think however until I actually start a treatment it’s all guesswork, I’ve read your stickies numerous times and it’s clear that only by seeing how I respond to treatment will show anything.

The only fear is that while feeling a bit deflated with a few years of low T I’ve never had what the doc describes as ‘clinical depression’ until recently, so I’m certain these are two different beasts. I really hope the nolvadex restart attempt goes smoothly, if the risk of mood swings is something common, I’ll probably go the underground route and self-inject.

Mood swings are more with clomid due to its estrogenic properties. Half of a 50 mg pill is an estrogen itself. You will have a better outcome with nolvadex.

Low T can cause depression and one needs to fix something like this before using SSRIs! Why? Because T is a natural hormone and is vital for well being and health. SSRIs are synthetic drugs to alter brain chemistry. It treats ONE of the many symptoms that a testosterone deficiency creates. Treating the root cause is always a good idea.

Try nolvadex with AI for a restart under the guidance of the doc, this is very important. If not successful, TRT is an ultimate option and one that’s worth it for people with hypogonadism.